1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a low-substituted cellulose ether powder used preferably as a dispersion stabilizer, a viscosity adjustment agent or the like of foods, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, aqueous coatings, inks, starches and the like; and a production process thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Cellulose polymers have made a great contribution to the above-described fields. For example, crystalline cellulose, cellulose powder or water soluble cellulose derivatives have been used widely. Japanese Patent Publications (JP-B) Nos. 56-54292/1981 (U.S. Pat. No. 4,258,179), 62-61041/1987 and 6-49768/1994 disclose production processes of an aqueous gel comprising steps of dispersing a low-substituted cellulose ether powder in water and shear-triturating the resulting dispersion.